- Jason Bay
Infobox MLB player
width=90
name=Jason Bay
width=250
position=Left Fielder
team=Boston Red Sox
number=44
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|9|20
birthplace=city-state|Trail|British Columbia,Canada
debutdate=May 23
debutyear=2003
debutteam=San Diego Padres
statyear=2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.282
stat2label=Home run s
stat2value=149
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=491
teams=
*San Diego Padres (by|2003)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2003-by|2008)
*Boston Red Sox (by|2008-present)
awards=
* 2x All-Star selection (2005, 2006)
* 2004 NL Rookie of the YearJason Raymond Bay (born
September 20 ,1978 in Trail,British Columbia ,Canada ) is aMajor League Baseball player for theBoston Red Sox .In his young major league career, Bay has demonstrated well above average power to all fields. He has also shown good discipline at the plate — in by|2005, he ranked in the top ten in the
National League in walks — although he does also strike out more often than the average hitter. On the bases, although he is not exceptionally fast, Bay is a very effective basestealer; in 2005, until he was picked off in the last week of the season, he had tied the major league record for most steals in a season without getting caught (21). Defensively, Bay was adept at handling the largeoutfield in Pittsburgh'sPNC Park and is a dependable fielder. Through by|2008, he has made only eighteen errors in 6283.7innings inleft field (.986 fielding percentage). For a left fielder, he has a below average throwing ability according to "The Hardball Times ". [http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/best-outfield-arms-of-2006/ Best Outfield Arms of 2006 - The Hardball Times ] ] [http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/more-guns-in-the-outfield-center-and-left-field/ More Guns in the Outfield: Center and Left Field - The Hardball Times ] ]Baseball career
Early years
Bay experienced success as a player very early, playing on a Trail team that reached the 1990
Little League World Series . He was drafted by theMontreal Expos in the 22nd round of the2000 Major League Baseball Draft fromGonzaga University and was assigned to the Expo's Short-Season A team in Burlington, Vermont (The Vermont Expos). In by|2001, Bay was assigned to the Expos’ High Single-A team in Jupiter. He began the year slowly, and in May he was moved to Clinton of theMidwest League . Bay reached base in his first 26 games, then went on to hit .362 and win the league batting title. In all, he batted .315 with 14 homers and 75 RBI on the year. He was dealt to theNew York Mets onMarch 24 , by|2002, forLou Collier . The Mets dealt him to theSan Diego Padres for Steve Reed at the 2002 trading deadline. He debuted with the Padres onMay 23 , by|2003, getting his first major league hit, a home run, in the 9th inning. Two days later, he suffered a broken right wrist after ahit by pitch .Pittsburgh Pirates
On
August 26 , 2003, Bay was traded to thePittsburgh Pirates , along withÓliver Pérez and Cory Stewart in August in exchange forBrian Giles . He finished the season with a .287 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games.Bay began the by|2004 season on the
disabled list due to surgery during the off-season, and did not join the team until May. Despite missing the beginning of the season, he still produced the best offensive numbers of anyNational League rookie. He hit .282 in 120 games, leading all major league rookies in home runs (26) and RBI (82). He also led all NL rookies inslugging percentage (.550),extra base hit s (54) andtotal bases (226). With his 26 home runs, Bay broke a Pirates rookies record of 23 set byJohnny Rizzo in by|1936 and matched byRalph Kiner in by|1946. Selected the NL rookie of the year by "The Sporting News", Bay was the third Pittsburgh player honored with the award, aftersecond baseman Johnny Ray (1982) andcatcher Jason Kendall . Bay was also the first Canadian player to win the award.In 2005, Bay was selected to his first
Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. He was the only player on either roster not to appear in the game at all. Bay also appeared in the 2005 Century 21Home Run Derby , representing Canada in the nationality-themed contest; he was eliminated in the first round after hitting no home runs. Bay finished the season with a .306 average, 32 home runs, and 101 RBI, leading the Pirates in every major hitting category.Through the by|2006 season, Bay was a career .292 hitter with 97 home runs and 306 RBI in 471 games over three seasons. Bay enjoyed an exceptional May of the 2006, when he hit .321 with 12 home runs (a Pirate record for home runs in a month) and 35 runs batted in. From
May 22 toMay 28 he hit home runs in six consecutive games, two short of the major league record held byDale Long ,Don Mattingly , andKen Griffey, Jr. He had actually hit 10 home runs in ten games, but he had failed to hit a home run in one of the games (and hit two the next day).Following an aggressive Public Relations campaign by the Pirates in 2006, Jason Bay led all National League outfielders in All-Star voting.
Pearl Jam lead singerEddie Vedder even urged fans to vote for Bay during a summer concert at Pittsburgh'sMellon Arena . [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_459791.html Bay flattered by All-Star push - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ] ] Bay became the first member of the Pittsburgh Pirates voted into the All-Star game as a starter sinceAndy Van Slyke . In the game, Bay went 1 for 3, with a single.After battling injuries, Bay's by|2007 season was less productive, hitting .247 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI.cite web| url = http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Anl.tjhCA4hsTYyqYI3l_z.FCLcF?slug=ap-pirates-tracyfired&prov=ap&type=lgns |last = Robinson |first = Alan |accessdate=2007-10-13 |title = Pirates fire Tracy after 2 losing seasons |date=
2007-10-05 |publisher =Associated Press ]Bay has had a much more productive 2008, hitting .282 with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in through the All Star break. In a May series against the
Chicago Cubs , Bay had extra-inning walk-off hits in back-to-back games; the first two walk-off hits of his career.cite web| url = http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080525&content_id=2767419&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit |last = Adamski |first = Chris |accessdate=2008-06-30 |title = Bay makes it a walk-off weekend |date=2008-05-25 |publisher =MLB.com ] A month later, he got his third walk-off hit of the season and his career with a 13th-inning solo home run against theTampa Bay Rays .cite web| url = http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080628&content_id=3023472&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit |last = Von Benko |first = George |accessdate=2008-06-30 |title = Bucs walk off on Bay's 13th-inning homer |date=2008-06-29 |publisher =MLB.com ]Boston Red Sox
On
July 31 , 2008, Bay and a player to be named later (Josh Wilson [cite news|url=http://www.projo.com/pawsox/content/sp_bb_pawsox03_08-03-08_V2B3689_v5.3da8828.html?npc|title=Shortstop Wilson goes to PawSox as part of Manny-for-Bay deal|author=Robert Lee| publisher="Providence Journal "|date=2008-08-03|accessdate=2008-08-04] ) were traded to theBoston Red Sox in a three team deal that sentManny Ramirez to theLos Angeles Dodgers andAndy LaRoche andBryan Morris to thePittsburgh Pirates from the Dodgers andBrandon Moss andCraig Hansen to the Pirates from the Red Sox.cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/manny.sweepstakes/index.html?eref=T1|title=Manny traded to Dodgers, Bay headed to Boston|last=Heyman|first=Jon|date=2008-07-31|accessdate=2008-07-31] In his Red Sox debut, Bay scored both runs, the second coming after he hit a triple in bottom of the 12th inning and thus winning the game on aJed Lowrie RBI infield single. The Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with the 2-1 victory over the visiting Oakland A's. In his second game he hit a 3-run home run in the first inning. On August 18th Jason Bay homered off of Jeremy Guthrie twice and had four RBI against the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox won 6-3. On August 26th Jason Bay played the Yankees the first time in a Red Sox uniform, Bay went 2-For-4 with two RBIs and a run, and a 7-3 victory over the Yankees. The Red Sox won the first out of three remaining games the Red Sox play at Yankee Stadium.On September 8, Bay went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a home run as the Sox won 8-2 against the Texas Rangers. Later that month, when the Red Sox traveled to
Tropicana Field to play theTampa Bay Rays , they had a veritable home run derby on September 15; Jason Bay had his 8th home run as a Red Sox player, and the 30th of the season, as the Sox beat the Rays 13-5. Bay ended up 1-for-4 with an RBI and a home run.The Sox' 2008
American League Division Series against theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the first playoff series of Bay's career. Bay hit a home run in each of the first two games of the series; in Game 2, on October 3, 2008, Bay hit a 3-run homer to give Boston an early 4-0 lead. On October 6, in Game 4, Bay scored the walkoff run to break a tie game on a single byJed Lowrie in the bottom of the 9th. The win clinched the Sox a berth in theAmerican League Championship Series against theTampa Bay Rays . Bay finished the series batting 7 for 17 (.412), with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs.Personal
Bay and his wife, Kristn, have two daughters, Addison, who was born on November 19, 2006 in
Pittsburgh , and Evelyn, who was born on September 16, 2008 inBoston .Bay's sister,
Lauren Bay Regula, is a professionalsoftball player who pitched for Canada in the 2004 Olympics, and was on the by|2008 Olympic team as well.Bay remains friends with
Edmonton Oilers centerShawn Horcoff , who was also born in Trail.In Bay's opening interview with the Boston media, he stated that his father was a die-hard Red Sox fan who had bought him a Red Sox
onesie to wear when he was young. Bay believed it was still in his parents' basement along with his two childhood bedroom posters of Red Sox greatsJim Rice andCarl Yazstremski . [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=e7f91cbd-2cdd-4a87-85ad-fc4941a136dd]Awards and honors
*Three-time NL Rookie of the Month (June, July and September, 2004)
*National League Rookie of the Year (2004)
*"The Sporting News " NL Rookie of the Year (2004)
*Tip O'Neill Award winner (2004 and 2005) - given to the top Canadian baseball player each season.
*National League All-Star (2005, 2006)
*Represented Canada at theWorld Baseball Classic
*Represented Canada in the 1990Little League World Series
*May 2006Player of the Month
*Represented Canada at the 2005 Home Run Derby
*The 2008 Chuck Tanner Award for "professionalism, cooperation and availability to and with Major League writers best assists them in carrying out daily responsibilities." [cite news |first= Jenifer|last= Langosch|title= Two tabbed by Pittsburgh writers|url= http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081007&content_id=3601579&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit&partnerId=rss_pit|publisher= PittsburghPirates.com|date= 2008-10-07|accessdate=2008-10-07]Records
*Holds the record for most home runs at
PNC Park with 61.
*Second most Home Runs (14) by a visiting player (behindLance Berkman - 18) and the highest batting average of any player with more than 100 at bats (.363, 58 for 160) atGreat American Ball Park in Cincinnati.cite web| url = http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080528&content_id=2785006&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit |last = Langosch|first = Jenifer |accessdate=2008-05-28 |title = Bay looks to continue success vs. Reds |date=2008-05-28 |publisher =MLB.com ]
*4th all-time in Home Runs hit by a Canadian born player behindLarry Walker (383),Matt Stairs (252), andJeff Heath (194).Pittsburgh Pirates
*4th all-time with .515 slugging percentage
*8th all-time with .890 on-base plus slugging (min 100 AB)
*8th all-time with 139 Home Runs
*10th all-time with 682 Strikeouts
*12th all-time with .375 on-base percentage
*15th all-time with 34 sacrifice flies
*15th all-time with 35 hit by pitchesCareer statistics
ee also
*
Top 500 home run hitters of all time References
External links
* [http://multimedia.foxsports.com/baseball/boston-red-sox/jason-bay.htm Jason Bay Video on FoxSports Video Archive]
* [http://videos.espn.com/baseball/boston-red-sox/jason-bay.htm Jason Bay Video on ESPN.com]
* [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/07/the_bay_file.html The Jason Bay file: (More than) 30 things to know about the newest Sox slugger]###@@@KEYEND@@@###
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